Two reviews up today on the SanDisk slotMusic player.

David Card says it's a "cute little device" but it won't save the industry. (I doubt he think any one thing will save the industry, but it's something that should be said when every new product launch is supposed to either save the industry or battle iTunes in some way.) "The player puts out great sound and has a solid feel (it's a little hefty). It's easy to use, though I miss shuffle mode -- a lot -- and I had no problems dragging my own MP3s onto it, in contrast to a lot of cell phones I've seen in the past. The packaging is attractive and you can even get album liner notes."

Listening Post also has a hands-on review. Generally positive things to say while noting the slotMusic player makes sense for those late to adopt new technologies. And the economics make sense, too. "Paying $15 for 1 GB of cellphone storage plus a 320-Kbps album by an artist you like isn't a bad deal, no matter what your demographic. As the holiday approaches during a financial crisis, a $35 player/card combo will be looking like a mighty fine bargain to a wide segment of shoppers."

Posted by Glenn at 2:28 PM | Link
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SanDisk unveiled today the initial lineup of over 40 artists who will make their slotMusic debuts before Christmas. They range from ABBA to Young Jeezy and include young rock bands (Metro Area), established rockers (Nickelback), consistent catalog artists (Jimmy Buffet, KISS, Lynyrd Skynyrd), new R&B (Robin Thicke, Rihanna), some legends (Elvis, Jimi Hendrix) and one artist that garnered mainstream attention from a Target commercial (MIA). Each card comes with a small USB adapter to allow for interoperability with any computer. Each card will contain an album, which is kind of a letdown. Given the capacity of the memory cards, there is potential for career-spanning collections that include music and other media items.

In addition, SanDisk announced the Sansa slotMusic player, a plug-and-play digital music player that will retail for $19.95. The slotMusic player was created to be the easiest way to listen to the music on the slotMusic memory cards. The artist-branded and include the artist's memory card and will retail for $34.95. The player's dimensions are 2.75” x 1.4375” x 1.4375”. It will accept any microSD card and will play MP3 and unprotected WMA files.

Accessories will include a "Sansa card wallet" and additional artist-branded shells for customization.

In interviews, SanDisk is emphasizing the use of microSD cards with mobile phones. The company sees the slotMusic card as a convenient way to listen to music on devices that accept the memory card. No downloading or synchronization is needed. SanDisk has done all the work for you. Are there a lot of people who can't be bothered to create their own playlists, download or rip their own files and put them on their device? Probably. Some of them are the people who love satellite radio -- let somebody else pick the songs, they just want to listen.

Reaction has been better than I anticipated (I expected jeers and boos from every corner of the Internet). Fairly positive analysis can be found at Digital Noise, The Tech Chronicles and Obsessable. Negative sentiment is found at Engadget, Gizmodo and Gearlog (which had a hands-on experience with the player and cards).

Posted by Glenn at 9:20 AM | Link
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On the back page of yesterday's New York Times business section, SanDisk has a full-page ad for its new slotMusic memory card. The company announced the new music format on September 22.

The top of the ad, as seen in the above photo, says "the next big thing in music." For scale, I placed a penny next to the actual-size slotDisk image.

Here's a sample of the ad's copy:

For the first time since the CD, the major players in the music and retail industries have united to support a new physical format. slotMusic is a tiny plug-and-play card that brings high-fidelity, DRM-free music to miscroSD-enabled mobile phones, MP3 players, personal computers, entertainment systems and other devices consumers already own.

SanDisk goes on to claim that slotMusic is "another industry-changing innovation" from the company. It's true that all four majors are on board and slotMusic titles will be sold in both Wal-Mart and Best Buy stores. Whether or not slotMusic will change the music industry is a big question mark. It's obvious that much thought has been put into the coordination needed to launch the new product. Less is known about the thought put into how consumers will live with the product -- how it will be packaged, how many titles will be released on the format, how it will be carried, how it will not be lost between car seat cushions (the slotMusic card is smaller than a postage stamp).

At the very least, and judging from the expense put into this single newspaper ad, we know SanDisk is putting its considerable weight behind slotMusic.

Posted by Glenn at 1:23 PM | Link
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